Contents

About Kabal

Kabal was first introduced in Mortal Kombat 3, sporting long, black hair, Hookswords and a respirator. He was a mysterious chosen warrior who survived an attack from one of Shao Kahn's extermination squads. His origin was unknown, however, his ending reveals he was actually a member of the Black Dragon. At the time of his introduction, he appeared as a force for good, but has since reverted to his evil ways, planning to place himself as the head of the new Black Dragon clan.

In Mortal Kombat (2011), Kabal is once again good, although his past as a Black Dragon member was mentioned by Kano after Kano fixes him with his respirator and improvements.[2] Before his disfigurement by Kintaro's flames, he was a police officer partnered up with Kurtis Stryker. By the end of the story, Kabal is dead and has been reanimated as one of Quan Chi’s revenants. He serves the sorcerer for the whole length of MKX, being freed from his control by the end whilst remaining undead.

In Mortal Kombat 11, the revenant Kabal serves now-emperor and empress Liu Kang and Kitana of the Netherrealm alongside Jade and Kung Lao. A younger pre-melted Kabal appears as well, summoned due to Kronika’s meddling with timeline. This Kabal is still a member of the Black Dragon, and later fights a younger Sonya after hearing from Kano that she is the one to disfigure him in the future (this being a lie in order to get the two to fight).

Character development

Kabal was originally going to be named Sandman, with wrist-mounted buzzsaw blades instead of hookswords. This was eventually dropped in favor for his current look, though rumors existed that Midway had briefly thought about using the discarded idea for a new character before abandoning those plans as well (Though this is somewhat implemented with Human Cyrax).

According to the MK team, in Deception they finally could show Kabal in the way he was intended to be in the 2D games: the long trench coat and the backpack. They couldn't do this because digitizing the costumes' characters was limited in 2D graphics. But by creating them in 3D graphics, they can build them from scratch.

Kabal's hookswords were first designed for an early plan of Baraka during preproduction of Mortal Kombat II. They were also used as generic weapons that were packaged with select characters in a line of MK action figures that briefly hit the market in 1995, which were based on the figures of G.I. Joe.

In the original plans for Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, a pre-scarred version of Kabal was to be introduced as one of the Black Dragon bosses. Screenshots were released and the character model can still be seen in the game, though he has no name or special significance. Of note is that he had a Southern accent and left the player his hookswords for use. This concept was later used in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, where there is an optional mission to rescue Kabal in the Wastelands.

Game information

A strange glitch could occur in the Sega Genesis version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, where, if the player entered the combination for Kabal's MK3 Animality after the "Finish Him!" message was displayed, his own head would be knocked off by no visible means and various glitches appeared. This is because the programmers forgot to delete Kabal`s Animality code.

Combat characteristics

Powers and abilities

Being a Black Dragon warrior, Kabal is a ruthless but level-headed kombatant. His weapon of choice is a pair of Hookswords, which he can use to eviscerate his enemies with ease. After being ambushed by Shao Kahn's extermination squads, he is forced to wear a respirator system to keep himself alive, and wears a mask to hide his hideous deformity, which is apparently so revolting that other kombatants would cower in fear because of it (strangely though, in Mortal Kombat 2011, the kombatants are oblivious to his face).

Kabal's other defining trait is his superhuman speed. He is able to move at such blinding speeds he appears as a blur, making him the fastest character in the series. His speed has even been compared to The Flash from the DC Universe.[3] It was later revealed in Mortal Kombat 2011 that his speed is due to his brief time in Outworld, his ravaged body exposed to the magic-heavy atmosphere of that realm granting him such power.

Signature moves

Raging Flash: Kabal runs forward at a very fast speed past his opponent, leaving them spinning into a dizzy state. In MK 2011 and MK 11, this is called Nomad Dash. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A, MK 2011, MK11)

The enhanced version is called Nomad Charge. This increases the speed of Kabal's start up. (MK 2011)

Dash Cancel: Kabal can cancel out of his Nomad Dash at the cost of one defensive meter. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

Plasma Blast: Kabal fires a purple projectile from his mask. He can do this both on the ground and in the air. In MK 2011, this is called Gas Blast. In MK11, Kabal instead emits a short-ranged cloud of lethal vapor from his mask which damages close opponents and restands them.(MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK:D, MK:A, MK 2011, MK11 - Equip Ability)

The enhanced version is called Vapor Blast. This makes the projectile larger in size and increases damage. (MK 2011)

Amplifying this move has Kabal fire a bigger cloud which deals damage over time as well as stunning the opponent. (MK11)

Sawblades: Kabal summons sawblades from the ground, cutting the opponent. In MK 2011, this is called Buzzsaw. In MK11, he throws it straight forward. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK 2011, MK11)

The enhanced version is called Saw Blades and sends two blades instead of one.

Amplifying this move has Kabal throwing a buzzsaw that hits mid and can be turned into a combo by using Nomad Dash.

In MK11 if the amplified version connects as a Punish, the attack is turned into a Krushing Blow, where the saw causes major blood loss, dealing double the original damage.

Nomad's Touch: Kabal thrusts out his hands towards the opponent, and - if they are in range - will be caught in an odd field that draws them in to collide with Kabal, though only the opponent gets hurt when they make contact. (MK:D, MK:A)

Tornado Slam: Kabal takes both hookswords and slashes in front of him, if the opponent is in range, they will be hooked. He then spins the hookswords, spins the opponent around, and slams them on the ground. This move was once his grab move. In MK11, the move is known as Hook Slam, and Kabal dashes to the other side before slamming them to the ground. (MK 2011, MK11)

The enhanced version is called Cyclone Slam. Kabal will spin the opponent around twice before slamming them. (MK 2011)

Amplifying this move allows Kabal to spin the opponent two more times before slamming them, dealing more damage. (MK11)

In MK11, if either the normal or the amplified version connects as a Kounter or a Punish, the attack is turned into a Krushing Blow, where when Kabal slams the opponent, he shatters their ribs, dealing increased damage, and sending the opponent high in the air for a juggle.

Air Buzzsaw: Kabal throws his buzzsaw diagonally down while in the air. (MK11)

Amplifying this move has Kabal recover faster after throwing his buzzsaw.

As with Air Buzzsaw, amplifying this move allows Kabal to recover faster.

Low Hook Grab: Kabal snags the opponent by the ankle with his hooksword, launches them up and punches them in the spine, sending them away. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

If the opponent is blocking high while this move connects, the attack is turned into a Krushing Blow, which has Kabal shatter their spine with a punch, dealing double the damage.

Hook Grab: Kabal grabs an airborne opponent by the ankle with his hooksword and slams them to the other side. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

Amplifying it pops up the opponent after slamming them down, allowing for combos.

Low Spinner: Kabal whirls around swinging his hook swords and follows up with a low slash tripping up the opponent. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

Amplifying this move has Kabal uppercut the opponent to pop them up into the air.

Nomad Spin: Kabal spins around in place, dealing damage to the opponent if they're close enough. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

Amplifying this move has Kabal add one more spin and deal two more hits.

Slight Gas: Using his jetpack, Kabal propels himself forward mid-air with a slight burst of gas. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

Flash Parry: Kabal clanks his hookswords together, stunning the opponent when they hit him, allowing for combos. This however, reduces the damage for his combo. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

Extended Hook: Kabal links his hookswords together to extend his reach and pulls the opponent towards him. This move restands the opponent as well as pull them closer. It is safe when done on a blocking opponent. (MK11 - Equip Ability)

X-Ray Move - Kabal's Deep: Kabal first uses his Raging Flash to daze his opponent before sliding in to break both of their shins. Afterwards, he runs up behind them and slashes the opponent's back with his hook swords, causing damage to the shoulder blades, ribs, and spine before slamming the opponent to the ground. (MK 2011)

Fatal Blow - Off the Hook: Kabal dashes to the other side to hit the opponent from behind, then two more times, appearing in front of them. He then spins his hookswords in a circular motion, slashing at the opponent multiple times before stabbing both swords through their body. After he knees them, he removes his swords by cutting the opponent sideways away, making them fall to their knees. Kabal then sinks one hooksword under their chin, which comes out of their mouth. Kabal ends by throwing the hooked opponent to the other side. (MK11)

Other moves

Throw -Whirling Hooksword Slam: Kabal rapidly whirls his opponent around twice and slams him/her to the ground using a hooksword. This became a special Move in MK (2011). (MK3, UMK3, MKT)

Throw (Forward): Kabal sinks one hooksword into the opponents' shoulder, then trips them. He then holds on the hooksword and spins himself and the grounded opponent before flinging them away. (MK11)

Throw (Backward): Kabal impales the opponent in the chin with his hooksword, throws them backwards, causing them to bounce up. He then slams the airborne opponent again, making them bounce again. He finishes the move by slamming the opponent again using both his hookswords. (MK11)

If Kabal performs this on an opponent who has failed a Throw Escape during a previous Throw before, the attack is turned into a Krushing Blow, where when Kabal slams the opponent into the ground, the impact breaks their neck, dealing over double the original damage.

Maimed and Mangled: Kabal strikes the opponent with a hook sword's handle, follows up with a slash and an overhead kick. (MK11)

If Kabal connects the final hit as a Kounter or a Punish, the attack is turned into a Krushing Blow, where when Kabal delivers the overhead kick, it shatters the entire top of the opponent's skull, dealing increased damage, and sending the opponent high in the air for a juggle.

Extermination Squad: Kabal pokes forward with a sword, follows up with a downwards slash and an uppercut swing. (MK11)

If Kabal connects the final hit as a Kounter or a Punish, the attack is turned into a Krushing Blow, where the hook causes major blood loss, dealing double the original damage.

Head Inflation: Kabal uses his respirator and inflates the opponent's head like a balloon. The opponent floats on top of the screen. An explosion is heard as their blood, bones and organs rain down. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)

Freaky Face: Kabal removes his mask and reveals a horribly disfigured face. He screams at the screen as his hair rises before doing this to the opponent, which literally scares their soul out of them. In MK11, it returns as a Brutality though when he removes his mask, his upper body and face are censored, this was later changed during an update where he is shown with bug eyes and hair rises like in MK3 while still wearing a mask. (MK3, UMK3, MKT, MK11 (Brutality))

Hook Up: Kabal kicks his foe upward into the air and slices them in half with his hooksword. In MK 2011, Kabal slices the opponent vertically, and their head is impaled on the hooksword upon impact. (MKD, MK 2011)

Tornado Cut: Kabal kicks the opponent to make them start spinning, then pulls out a hooksword and slices the opponent into different pieces. (MKD)

It Takes Guts: Kabal stabs his hookswords into his opponent's abdomen and rips their intestines out. As the opponent falls to the ground, he plants his swords onto the ground with the blades facing upward, and the opponent falls into the blades, impaling their shoulders in the process. (MK 2011)

Road Rash: Kabal grabs the opponent's leg with his hooksword, then proceeds to run at an incredible speed, dragging the opponent behind him. This makes their face grind against the floor, shredding off their face and causing their eyeballs to fall out. He briefly stops to throw the opponent, dashes to the other side and slices the airborne opponent in half through the frontal body plane. (MK11)

Hooked: Kabal slices the opponent's stomach, causing intestines to fall out, turning the opponent around. He then slices the opponent's Achilles’ tendons, slowly allowing the opponent to fall forward. Kabal quickly catches the falling opponent by holding his opponent's face with both hookswords. He finishes by placing his foot on their back and pressing his hookswords back, slowly cutting through the mouth, cutting the upper head off. (MK11)

Requires a number of moves involving the buzzsaw to connect during the match.

Ripped Away: Kabal performs an Amplified Hook Slam, but instead of slamming the opponent to the ground, he keeps spinning them with his hookswords as their arms and legs break off until he tosses a limbless torso into the air. (MK11)

Several buttons must be pressed during the spin.

Alternate Ripped Away: Kabal executes a Hook Slam, but after grabbing the hooks again, he rips off the victim's torso and slams it to the ground. (MK11 - Secret)

Deadly Vapors: Kabal does a Gas Blast which melts away the opponent's face and the front part of the torso. (MK11)

Must not lose a round.

A button must be held.

Spinner Winner: Kabal does a Backwards Throw, but slams the opponent to the ground with such power it smashes their head and upper torso. (MK11)

A button must be pressed repeatedly.

Will not trigger on Krushing Blow, if it has not been activated during the match.

Heart Attack: Kabal does a Low Hook Grab and severs the opponent's ankle before punching them in the back as they fall, knocking their heart out of their chest. (MK11)

Must connect a number of hits before finishing with a Low Hook Grab.

Screamer: Kabal amplifies Gas Blast and in vein of his Freaky Face Fatality screams at the screen as his hair rises before doing this to the opponent, which literally scares their soul out of them. When he removes his mask, his upper body and face are censored, this was later changed during an update where he is shown with bug eyes and hair rises like in MK3 while still wearing a mask. (MK11)

Mercy must be performed beforehand.

Nowhere To Run: Kabal performs his Left for Dead kombo and kicks the opponent with enough force to rip off their ankles. The opponent tries crawling towards Kabal before bleeding to death. (MK11)

A button must be held.

Fatal Blow must be available.

Other finishers

Friendship:True Camper: Kabal roasts a marshmallow on one of his hookswords. (MK3, UMK3, MKT)

Appearances in other media

Film

Television

Kabal made one appearance in episode 11 of the cartoon series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, in which he betrays Kano and the Black Dragon and befriends Sonya Blade. Sonya sees Kabal with his mask removed and she is startled, but later she expresses disgust over the prejudice he faced due to his disfigurement. Kabal is shown without disfigured features in the episode.

"It's only you and me, this time. There's no castle to bury me under."

Trivia

General

During his Freaky Face Fatality in Mortal Kombat 3, Kabal faces forward and screams at the screen before screaming at his opponent beside him. Therefore, he has broken the fourth wall.

That being said, Kabal is the first character in the Mortal Kombat series to have broken the fourth wall.

In Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Kabal's accent is similar to that of Elvis Presley's.

One of Shaolin Monks' game over messages is "Kabal says thank you very much." This may be a reference to the mission in which the player could get the chance to wield his hookswords after rescuing him and/or a direct reference to Elvis Presley.

In Hebrew "kabal" translates to "Capacitor" while in Arabic, it translates to "Fortress." Also, "cabal" usually refers to a secret group or organization. As per the MK tradition of changing C's to K's, it could form his name.

In a Top 10 list hosted by Screwattack.com, Kabal's Freaky Face was placed at #9 of the worst fatalites in the Mortal Kombat series.

In a technical sense, he is one of the few characters to be dead in both the original and current timelines.

Mortal Kombat 3

He was considered too powerful for Mortal Kombat 3, so Midway toned down his power for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

Kabal's 'skeletal rhinoceros' seen in his Animality is Kirin/Qilin (Tsi-lin), a fictional beast of Chinese myths.

Mortal Kombat: Deception

Kabal is the only character to have a style-branching combo, going from the armed weapon style to the first unarmed style.

In Konquest mode, Kabal is one of two characters (the other being Tanya) who will attack Shujinko if he is bumped into. Normally, the aggressive characters must be punched by Shujinko before they react by assaulting him back.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

Even though Kabal has his hookswords back, Mavado still has a pair of hookswords.

Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe

Kano mentions that The Flash is so fast that "You'd give Kabal a run for his money", acknowledging his superhuman speed.

Mortal Kombat (2011)

His alternative costume is his pre-injury police outfit with his breathing equipment. It also features an update to his classic MK3 mask.

Upon closer inspection, Kintaro's flames not only burned Kabal's skin and lungs, but blinded his left eye as well. This can be easily seen in his 3D model.

If a Fatality that involves the torso's removal is done on Kabal (such as Reptile's Weight Loss), his hookswords will fly in the air and as the legs falls down, the swords will fall down together with the legs, and clip into the floor.

Kabal along with Sindel, Kung Lao, Sonya, and Reptile are the only five characters whose special moves are affected by Headless Kombat. He loses his Vapor Blast move.

Along with Sonya, Quan Chi and Nightwolf, Kabal never appears in Mortal Kombat (2011)'s Story Mode in his alternate costume. However, he appears in his regular, unburned form when he is introduced.

This is the first game where Kabal's superhuman speed´s origins are explained. It is a residual effect of Shang Tsung's magic.

However, during Story Mode, he refers to this as "a result of the Outworld magic".

When Kabal performs his It Takes Guts fatality, and when the opponent falls on his hookswords, the blood is always red, no matter what color the opponent's blood usually is.

Mortal Kombat X

Kabal is not playable in the game, but appears in cameos of the Story Mode as one of Quan Chi's Revenants.

Mortal Kombat 11

Kabal returns as a playable character with his base appearance resembling that of his klassic outfit from Mortal Kombat 3, but with minor, subtle changes.

It is also possible to play without his mask on and additionally his pre-melted design.

During a mirror match intro, both Kabal's make a parodic reference to the 1994 film, Forrest Gump.

Unlike his fellow Black Dragon-related characters Kano and Erron Black, Kabal is the only enemy-only playable character in the Story Mode whose past and present selves can be fought in certain chapters.

Kabal is also the only character whose past and present selves never encounter each other.

Kabal is also the 5th character to coming from MK11 to appear in Mortal Kombat Mobile, as well as the 3rd Gold MK11 character to be announced in the series. The other two are Jade and Raiden.

References

↑As a "chosen warrior", he was to be good in Mortal Kombat 3. However, he became evil since Mortal Kombat: Deception. In Mortal Kombat (2011), Kabal is portrayed as good once again.

↑He is briefly mentioned in the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe crossover by Kano, who after meeting the Flash says "You could give Kabal a run for his money". He is one of the few MK characters not present in the game to be referenced in it.